Spat collector

ABSTRACT

Spat collector which comprises a plurality of stackable plates made of a semi-rigid material, each of which plates comprises a series of strips disposed in the form of a louver and is provided with a central orifice, and a central member adapted to pass through said orifices to locate said plates in a stack.

United States Patent [191 Halaunbrenner [451 July 23,1974

[ SPAT COLLECTOR [76] Inventor: Lazare Nathan Halaunbrenner, 17,

Boulevard Edgar Quinet, 92-Colombes, France [22] Filed: Jan. 19, 1973[21] Appl. No.: 325,157

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 25, 1972 France 72.12473[52] US. Cl. 119/4 [51] Int. Cl A01k 61/00 [58] Field of Search 119/2-4[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,029,785 Q4/1962 Maheo119/4 Fischer 119/4 Fordam 1 19/4 Primary Examiner-Antonio F. GuidaAssistant Examiner-J. N. Eskovitz Attorney, Agent, or FirmBrisebois &Kruger [5 7 ABSTRACT Spat collector which comprises a plurality ofstack-able plates made of a semi-rigid material, each of which platescomprises a series of strips disposed in the form of a louver and isprovided with a central orifice, and a central member adapted to passthrough said orifices to locate said plates in a stack.

10 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEnJuLzsm SHEEI 2 BF 5.

1 SPAT COLLECTOR SUMMARY ()F THE INVENTION This invention relates to aspat collector comprising a plurality of parts, which is relativelyinexpensive and is particularly simple and effective to use.

It is known that the spawn of shellfish and, in particular, that ofoysters, must be collected on supports which are generally coated withlime and immersed in the sea in appropriate areas. The spawn attachesitself to the collector and develops thereon until it attains a largersize, when it is removed therefrom.

This known operation consists in separating the spat from its support inorder to place it in receptacles or appropriate places in which theshellfish attains its adult size.

The present invention relates to a spat collector which facilitates thesatisfactory collection of shellfish spawn, and'retains them so as toinsure their satisfactory development, and which by its structure andthe material of which it is made facilitates the separation of the spatat the appropriate time.

The present invention isaccordingly directed to a new articleofmanufacture which consists of a spat collector characterized by the factthat it comprises a plurality of stackable plates, each of which has aseries of strips positioned as louvers, said plates being made of asemi-rigid plastic material and being mounted on each other by means ofa central member which passes through an orifice in the central portionthereof.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plates are square orrectangular in shape and comprise at each corner positioning abutmentswhich fit into each other during the stacking of the plates.

In one embodiment of the invention the central member which connects thedifferent plates is cylindrical in shape, as are the holes in thecentral portions of these plates.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the stripspositioned in the form of louvers have a section shaped like a flattenedS and are slightly inclined with respectto a plane perpendicular to theplane of the plates.

Also in a preferred embodiment of the invention the strips are attachedprincipally to the side members of the plates, which consist of a medianbar and two side bars, the median bar being connected to all of the endsof the strips, whereas the side bars are connected either to all of thestrips or only to certainones among them.

Such an arrangement makes it possible to impart to the plate adeformability sufficient to permit ready removal of the spat by bendingthe plate or by tapping the plate on a solid obstacle so as to createvibrations which assure the detachment of the spat.

In the embodiment of the invention in which the plates are square orrectangular in shape it is advantageous to arrange the strips parallelto a diagonal to the plate] In accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe invention the strips have their surfaces slightly striated in alongitudinal direction so as to facilitate the attachment of the limewith which the collector is coated before beingimmersed to collect thespat.

In a particularly simple and economical method of making the collectorthe strips to which the spat is to become attached are generallyS-shaped' and are alternately positioned to create a configuration inthe form of an elongated Greek fret.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the stripsare themselves made of bars which extend parallel to each otherlongitudinally of the strips, said bars being held together bycontinuous cross bars positioned on at least one side of the strips.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the neighboring strips definebetween them openings, which may be crossed by bars, and which preventthe accumulation of debris during their use in the sea.

In this embodiment the strips are preferably positioned parallel to oneside of the plate.

In accordance with the invention the plates which have just beendescribed are made of a semi-rigid plastic material such, for example,as low pressure polyethylene of polyvinylchloride.

In one particular embodiment of theinvention the central member whichholds the stack of plates together is cylindrical in its outer shape andcarries a flange at its lower edge which is pressed against the centralpart of the lowest, plate, while the upper plate and the central part ofthe upper plate have a group of cooperating sectors which, in a givenangular position, make it possible to position the upper plate on thecentral body and then, after angular pivoting of the upper plate withrespect to the body, lock the plates on the body.

' A pin, key or like device then prevents the upper plate from returningto the angular position which would permit their separation.

The central member is advantageously made of a plastic material. It may,for example, be hollow and filled with sand when it isdesired to immersethe collector in the water. It may also act as a float when thecollectors are intended to float while being held in place by a cordconnected to a weight at the bottom of the sea.

In order that the invention may be better understood, two embodimentsthereof will now be described, purely by way of illustration andexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a collector plate according to a firstembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view on a larger scale of the lower left corher of the plateshown on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view on a larger scale taken along theline III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view partially in section of a spat collectorcomprising a stack of plates such as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view on a larger scale showing the abutment means mounted atthe corners of the plate;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view on a larger scale taken through oneembodiment of the striated strips;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view on a larger scale taken along theline VIII-VIII on FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line VIIIVIII ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of one surface of a strip taken as seenin the direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. 10.

FIG. 1 shows in elevation a plate for collecting spat in accordance withone embodiment of the invention. This plate is square in shape. It hasfour side members 1, 2, 3 and 4 which support parallel strips 5 arrangedlike louvers.

The plate has a central cylindrical orifice 6 defined by a wall 7. Theside members 1, 2, 3 and 4 are identical, and each comprise three bars,to wit, a central T- shape bar 8, and two side bars 9 and 10, eachhaving an angular section. Except near the corners these bars areconnected to each other only by the ends of the strips 5. As may be seenon FIG. 3 the ends of the strips 5 are connected by extensions 11alternately to the side bars 9 and 10. This structure has the doubleadvantage of permitting free circulation of water through the sides ofthe plates and making it easy to remove the spat because the flexibilityof the resulting assembly permits vibrations and deformations topropagate easily through the various strips 5. As may be seen on FIG. 5,each plate comprises at each end an upwardly extending flange 12 in theform of a'corner and a lower flange 13 alsoin the shape of a corner.

I The shape of the flanges 12'and 13 is such that when the variousplates are stacked on each other as shown in FIG. '4 thelower side bar 9of an upper plate is posi-' tioned above the upper sidebar of a lowerplate while the flange 13 of the upper plate seats in the inner cornerof the lower plate and the flange 12 of the lower plate received theouter edge of the corner of the upper plate,

FIG. 5 shows on a larger scale the corners of two plates stackedone uponthe other.

The lower plate is shown in solid lines and the upper plate inbroken'lines.

The reference numerals for the upper plate have been indicated with aprime mark, for example, the upper bar of the upper plate is indicatedby. whereas the corresponding bar of the lower plate is indicated byreference numeral 10.

FIG. 5 clearly shows how the adjacent bars 10 and 9' of the two platescome into contact while the flange 13 of the upper plate seatsinside thebar'10 of the lower plate, the flange 12 of the lower plate beinglocated outside the upper'plate.

This results in a satisfactory location and stacking of the variousplates one upon the other.

FIG. 2 shows the flanges 12 and 13 and the two abutments 14 which areadapted to hold laterally the flange 13 of the upper plate which is tobe seated in the plate shown on FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 schematically shows a spat collector made of a plurality ofplates such as have just been described. In this embodiment the centralmember 15 is a hollow cylinder made of plastic material.

The member 15 is provided with the orifices 16 at its lower end. Theseare adapted to facilitate subsequent mooring by means of the suitablecordage. It also has an orifice 17 in its upper part which is adaptedfor the same purpose.

The lower part of the member 15 is provided with a collar 18 which isadapted to support the stack of plates as shown on FIG. 4. In theembodiment illustrated, the collector comprises a stack of seven plateswhich are all identical, except for the upper plate 19, which has a de-'vice for fastening the stack on the centralmember 15. For this purposethe internal wall 7 of the plate 19 is provided with ribs 20 positionedin regularly spaced part-circular arcs. The upper part of the hollowbody 15 also has ribs 21 extending along corresponding arcs.

It will be appreciated that, under these circumstances, if the ribs ofthe upper plate 19 are regularly space and can pass between the ribs 21of the central member, there is an angular position in which it ispossible to slide the plate 19 down over the member. It will also beappreciated that the assembly consisting of the upper plate 19 and allthe plates which are situated therebelow can then be pivoted to bringthe ribs 20 and 21 into registration with each other.

To insure that the upper plate remains in this position with respect tothe member 15 it is possible to use keys 22 which are engaged both in awall of the member 15 and in recesses formed in the upper part of thewall 7 of the plate 19.

It will be seen that this method of assembly makes it easy to stack thevarious plates which are effectively held in position on top of eachother, partly by the centralm'ember 1, and partly by the flanges 12 and13jat each corner.

The separation of the plates is also very easy and the spat may beremoved by twisting the plates or by tapping them with something hard inorder to set up vibrations in the plate. The fact that the strips areparallel to a diagonal of the plate facilitates that removal.

Finally, FIG. 6 is a sectional view through an embodiment of a strip 5which is provided with small longitudinal striations which facilitatesthe attachment of the lime and the spat.

FIG. 7 shows a plate according to an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention which, as in the embodiment already described, has acentral orifice 6 defined bya wall 7, an upper flange 12 and lower,flange 13, to permit correct stacking of the plates at each corner. Theedges of the plates also consist of central bars 8 and upper and lowerside bars 9 and 10.

FIG. 9 shows clearly, and FIG. 8 shows on a larger scale, how the stripsaccording to the invention are arranged. While in the first embodimentthe strips, which have a generally S-shape, are positioned parallel toeach other asin a louver, in the second embodiment of the invention thestrips are positioned in facing pairs to form symmetrical structureshaving the form of an elongated Greek fret. As in the first embodimentof the invention, the strips are mounted on the body of the plates bybeing fixed to the central bars and by means of extensions 11. In theembodiment illustrated on FIGS. 7-11 the strips consist of longitudinalmembers 23 which are connected to each other by transverse bars 24 and25.-This arrangement results in a trellis, the structure of which isclearly shown on FIGS. 10 and 1 1. It will be noted that, as aconsequence of the latter type of construction, of the longitudinalmembers 23, it is possible to remove the plate from the mold without anyparticular difficulty.

It will also be seen that the openings 26 between the adjacent stripspermit the elimination of any debris which may reach the plates.Moreover, the structure of the strips which has just been described,with the openings and numerous edges which they provide, is particularlywell adapted to facilitate the attachment of the spat to the collector.In addition, the lime which is intended to cover the collector iseffectively held on strips having such a structure.

The device which has just been described has the advantage of beingrelatively easy to make, and providing a substantial surface for thecollection of spat, while permitting a regular circulation of the waterin which the collector is immersed, all of which facilitate theeffective collection of spat. Moreover, the surfaces in the form of anelongated Greek fret attached according to the invention to the upperbars and lower bars are particularly useful in facilitating spatremoval.

The collectors which have just been described are in the form ofparallelepipedic or cubical units which are easy to handle and may bepositioned in the water in any position. It is easy to coat them withlime by immersing the entire collector unit in a conventional lime bath.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiment which has just beendescribed has been given purely by way of illustration and example andmay be modified as to-detail without thereby departing from the basicprinciples of the invention. In particular, it is obvious that theinvention is not limited to square plates. In like manner the assemblyof the various plates may be car ried out by means of a central memberhaving a shape and dimensions different from theone illustrated.Finally, it goes without saying that the structure of the stripsthemselves may be different, so long as this structure facilitates theattachment of the spat and the lime.

What is claimed is:

1. Spat collector which comprises a plurality of stackable plates madeof a semi-rigid material, each of which plates comprises a frame and aseries of parallel strips disposed in the form of a louver, said stripshaving a section in the shape of a flattened S and being slightlyinclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the plate to whichthey are attached, each of said plates being provided with a centralcircular orifice, and a central cylindrical member adapted to passthrough said orifices to locate said plates in a stack, with said stackof plates resting on a collar at the bottom of the central member, theupper plate and on the upper part of the central member being providedwith ribs extending in part-circular arcs and positioned to permit saidupper plate to slide down on said central member when said upper plateoccupies one angular position relative to said central member, butpreventing movement of said upper plate longitudinally of said centralmember when said upper plate occupies a different angular po- 6 sitionrelative to said central member.

2. Collector as claimed in claim 1 comprising latch means which preventsthe upper plate from pivoting to return to the angular position whichpermits its longitudinal movement on the central member.

3. Spat collector which comprises a plurality of stackable plates madeof a semi-rigid material, each of which plates comprises a frame and aseries of parallel spaced strips disposed in the form of a louver, theindividual strips of said series having a section in the shape of aflattened S and a median plane slightly inclined with respect to a planeperpendicular to the plate to which they are attached, each of saidplates being provided with a central orifice, and a central memberadapted to pass as a close fit through said orifices to hold said platesin a vertically aligned stack.

4. Collector as claimed in claim 3 in which the strips are made of barsextending parallel to each other longitudinally of the strips, said barsbeing held together by transverse bars positioned on at least one sideof the strips.

5. Collector as claimed in claim 3 in which adjacent strips have spacestherebetween.

6. Collector as claimed in claim 3 in which the plates are rectangularin shape.

7. Collector as claimed in claim 6 in which the plates have mountingflanges on at least one corner which receive the corner of an adjacentplate when the plates are stacked.

8. Collector as claimed in claim 3 in which the plate comprises sidemembers consisting of a central bar connected to the ends of all thestrips and two side bars connected to at least some of said strips.

9. Collector as claimed in claim 3 which is made of a semi-rigid plasticmaterial selected from the group consisting of low pressure polyethyleneand polyvinylchloride.

10. Spat collector which comprises a plurality of stackable plates madeof a semi-rigid material, each of which plates comprises a frame and aseries of parallel spaced strips having a generally S-shaped sectionpositioned in opposed pairs so as to create a configuration in the formof an elongated Greek fret, each of said plates being provided withacentral circular orifice, and a central cylindrical member adapted topass as a close fit through said orifices to hold said plates in astack.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,824,957 i Dated July 23 197! Inventor(s) LAZARE NATHAN HALAUNBRENNERIt is certified that error appears in the above-idntifid patent andxthat said Lia'tters' Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

I Foreign Application Priority Data France 72.02378 January 25, 1972April 10, 1972 France Signed andv sealed this 29th day of October 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

C. MARSHALL DANN USCOMM-DC 60370-F'69 flu.s. eovzmmzm' PRINTING OFFICE;nu o-ass-su.

FORM PO-1050 (10-69)

1. Spat collector which comprises a plurality of stackable plates madeof a semi-rigid material, each of which plates comprises a frame and aseries of parallel strips disposed in the form of a louver, said stripshaving a section in the shape of a flattened S and being slightlyinclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the plate to whichthey are attached, each of said plates being provided with a centralcircular orifice, and a central cylindrical member adapted to passthrough said orifices to locate said plates in a stack, wiTh said stackof plates resting on a collar at the bottom of the central member, theupper plate and on the upper part of the central member being providedwith ribs extending in part-circular arcs and positioned to permit saidupper plate to slide down on said central member when said upper plateoccupies one angular position relative to said central member, butpreventing movement of said upper plate longitudinally of said centralmember when said upper plate occupies a different angular positionrelative to said central member.
 2. Collector as claimed in claim 1comprising latch means which prevents the upper plate from pivoting toreturn to the angular position which permits its longitudinal movementon the central member.
 3. Spat collector which comprises a plurality ofstackable plates made of a semi-rigid material, each of which platescomprises a frame and a series of parallel spaced strips disposed in theform of a louver, the individual strips of said series having a sectionin the shape of a flattened S and a median plane slightly inclined withrespect to a plane perpendicular to the plate to which they areattached, each of said plates being provided with a central orifice, anda central member adapted to pass as a close fit through said orifices tohold said plates in a vertically aligned stack.
 4. Collector as claimedin claim 3 in which the strips are made of bars extending parallel toeach other longitudinally of the strips, said bars being held togetherby transverse bars positioned on at least one side of the strips. 5.Collector as claimed in claim 3 in which adjacent strips have spacestherebetween.
 6. Collector as claimed in claim 3 in which the plates arerectangular in shape.
 7. Collector as claimed in claim 6 in which theplates have mounting flanges on at least one corner which receive thecorner of an adjacent plate when the plates are stacked.
 8. Collector asclaimed in claim 3 in which the plate comprises side members consistingof a central bar connected to the ends of all the strips and two sidebars connected to at least some of said strips.
 9. Collector as claimedin claim 3 which is made of a semi-rigid plastic material selected fromthe group consisting of low pressure polyethylene and polyvinylchloride.10. Spat collector which comprises a plurality of stackable plates madeof a semi-rigid material, each of which plates comprises a frame and aseries of parallel spaced strips having a generally S-shaped sectionpositioned in opposed pairs so as to create a configuration in the formof an elongated Greek fret, each of said plates being provided with acentral circular orifice, and a central cylindrical member adapted topass as a close fit through said orifices to hold said plates in astack.